Today pictures of the upcoming Korg Monotribe Analogue Ribbon Station were released into the wild. It appears to be more of a Monotron-plus than an Electribe-Monotron fusion but looks like it offers lots of hands on control, including the Monotron ribbon, and also includes a step sequencer with a kick, snare, hi hat and synth part. The retro styling of the knobs and buttons and the grey casing are handsome and from the pics I don’t expect it to be a very portable device. There is also a mysterious button named “flux”…
UPDATE: via Matrixsynth (via Soviet Space Child) the Flux button is for Flux Mode which lets you create sequenced synth parts that are not tied to the step grid. Additionaly, the Active Step button lets you turn steps on or off to create “short loop-like effect or off-beat patterns that weave in and out of complex rhythms.” For a complete feature run down check the Matrixsynth post.
Monotribe Analogue Ribbon Station
via Sythtopia the features include:
- Synth with single VCA, VCF, VCA
- LFO
- Envelope Generator
- Selectable wave options
- Noise
- Bass Drum
- Snare Drum
- High Hat
- Built-in Sequencer
- Toggle synthesizer matrix
Rear connections
Like the Monotron, the Monotribe offers an audio input, presumably that runs through the filter to the output. It would be really cool if you could also run it through the LFO and/or gate incoming audio with the sequencer. There is also an 1/8 inch sync in and out. Not sure of the details of that but the ability to sync the Monotribe will be key to integrating into peoples’ setups.
Hopefully we will get to see more of and more importantly hear this device this week. Even more importantly, I hope that this is just the start of creative new analog synths from Korg. Maybe this will be the thing to inspire Roland and Yamaha to get back in the game too.
